STLCC Announces New Dual Credit Scholarship, Promotes Education Accessibility
To promote college accessibility for all, St. Louis Community College announced today that it will incorporate a new scholarship for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch within its existing dual credit program.
These students, Jump Start Scholars, will receive the Jump Start to College scholarship that covers full dual credit tuition. Students participating in the program can take up to six credit hours (the equivalent of two classes) per semester. The College’s tuition rate for dual credit is normally $25 per credit hour.
“St. Louis Community College must be flexible and meet scholars where they are. Dual credit students have already made the decision to get a jump start on their college education. By opening new opportunities for more students, we are demonstrating a goal of making education accessible for all people,” said Dr. Jeff L. Pittman, chancellor.
The College’s dual credit program allows high school students to take qualifying high school classes for college credit. Students apply and enroll through STLCC, but attend classes at their high school. To qualify for dual credit, students must:
- Receive written permission from an advisor and a parent or guardian
- Demonstrate readiness for college courses by submitting ACT or SAT scores, or by taking a placement test
- Be a junior or senior with a 2.6 grade point average or higher
- Be a sophomore with a 3.0 grade point average or higher
- To qualify as a Jump Start scholar, a student must demonstrate participation in a free or reduced lunch program.
“This is a wonderful opportunity that will give more Ritenour High School students the chance to earn college credits prior to graduation,” said Dr. Mike LaChance, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, Ritenour School District. “We have had a growing number of students who have enrolled in dual credit courses in recent years, and this scholarship will take the financial burden off of their shoulders and allow more to enroll so they can commit to the rigor of college-level courses.”
The Jump Start to College scholarship will go into effect in time for the spring 2020 semester. More than 24 school districts, public charter high schools and independent parochial schools participate in STLCC’s dual credit program.
“The savings that students see by taking courses through STLCC’s dual credit program are tremendous,” said Dr. Elizabeth Perkins, president and chief academic officer at STLCC-Florissant Valley and district champion of Dual Credit/Enrollment Partnerships. “But the real savings happen when you transfer the credits to a four-year university, saving hundreds or even thousands of tuition dollars.”
For more information on the dual credit program and Jump Start to College scholarship, contact Dr. Elizabeth Perkins at dualcredit@stlcc.edu.